Press release

Admission offered to 11 300 applicants in the spring joint application to higher education

Current issues Higher education Student selection Statistics
Over 63,800 applicants applied to English-taught study programmes and art study programmes offered in the joint application this spring, with 18 % receiving an offer of admission. When compared to 2023, the number of applicants increased by 4 percent.
Nuoret opiskelijat keskustelevat iloisesti keskenään.

The selection in the joint application consisted of programmes offered in English and programmes offered by University of the Arts Helsinki programmes in theatre arts by Tampere University. Over 63,800 applicants participated in the application. When compared to last spring, the number of applicants grew by 4%. The rate of acceptance was higher, 18%, compared to 16% in 2023.

The competition was hardest in field of culture and arts, with only 6% of applicants being accepted, as well as the field of services with an acceptance rate of 6%. With an acceptance rate of 17%, the easiest field to gain admission to was engineering and technology. 

50% of the students were accepted to bachelor's degree programmes, while 50% were accepted to master’s degree programmes.

The acceptance rate to universities of applied sciences (UAS) was 16% and to universities 15%. Around 23% of the accepted applicants are Finnish citizens. The second and third most common nationalities among the accepted applicants were from Bangladesh and Pakistan. In total, 71% of the accepted applicants were from outside the EU/EEA area.

Offer of admission to be accepted by July 11

The applicants were informed of the results of the joint application last week. The offer of admission must be accepted by July 11, before 3 PM EEST (UTC+3). Applicants can be admitted from a waiting list until July 30.

The higher education institutions can organize supplementary application rounds to fill study places left vacant in the joint application. The higher education institutions independently decide if they will organize supplementary application rounds, and the programmes and instructions on how and when to apply are published on Studyinfo and the institutions’ websites once the decisions have been made. These programmes can be applied to via Studyinfo.

Since 2020, the joint application to higher education has been divided into two separate joint applications. In the first joint application, one can apply to degree programmes offered in English, programmes offered by University of the Arts Helsinki, and programmes in theatre arts by Tampere University. In the second joint application in spring, one can apply to degree programmes offered in Finnish and Swedish. The studies begin in autumn 2024.

Additional information

Senior Adviser Janni Jokela, janni.jokela [at] oph.fi , tel. 029 533 1818
Senior Adviser Mikko Eronen, mikko.eronen [at] oph.fi , tel. 029 533 1485